On death and dying...

This is one of the most unexpected topics I'm writing after a series of tags...Even I didnt expect to write this for a couple of hours ago I was working on another...How it struck me is a story by itself...
I was in the middle of a novel, about to fall eagerly into the arms of Somnus, who was enticing me into an aftenoon nap when my mom asked me to send an important mail...Quickly shaking off the sleeping-sand from my eye-lids, I sent the mail and was about to log off when I saw my friend online...It had been nearly a month since we spoke,but we did manage to keep in touch through scraps..Their family had hosted us in Srilanka and they've been our family friends for more than 30 years....So I began chattering a dozen to one(my usual style) and chided her playfully for having been dormant so long...It was then the shattering truth came out, her father was dead! It was like a blow,painful and sudden, I felt hot tears stinging my eyes...For a second I thought(wistful thinking)she was joking...But sadly this is not a matter that one talks about so lightly and I had to face it, he was gone...That one moment bringing back to my mind some dark moments tucked away in my mind,never to be erased...
Death or dying strictly stuck on to the screens in my life for a long time..As a child, I believed that the people who died would just get back to life the very next day(as in movies) and later I believed that they would join the numerous stars in the velvet sky..It was only when I was 13 and my great gran passed away that I felt the pain, the huge void in my heart,in the place where I had placed her..It was quite sudden and my mom kept telling me that she had died a peaceful death without having had to endure too much pain...But for me, it seemed impossible for my life to move along without having her with me...She meant alot to me and it took me years to accept the fact that she was gone....
Then I lost my best friend within a year..Nalini and I were more than friends, we were what they say "twin souls"..It was like replaying the incident all over...A friend calling up one night telling me that she was badly injured in an accident and within a few minutes a call saying that she was dead..It was way too sudden and I was too shocked to react...She was too young to die and I kept wishing that night that someone would call me the next day and would call it a joke and that we could laughter over it together...It never happened....
The tragedy is not death of the person but the death of something in you..When a person means alot to us, they become a part of us...So in their going away, we mourn not only for their departure but for the part in us that has gone away with them...Sometimes it takes so long for people to get over and accept the fact that they could never again come home to see their loved one's face, share a hug, hear their voice or even think about them without feeling the pain...The last moments we spent with them stand in perpetuum somewhere in us...
I remember vividly the time in Colombo when we were playing in the lawns making as much noise as possible and Gemunu uncle watching us with his wife and my parents, everyone laughing at our antics...and the last phone call Nalini made, with both of us giggling over some private joke and discussing about the colour of her prom dress...and the last song I sang to my great-gran the day before she left to the hospital and her smile...some pictures that were painted with a mixture of love,laughter,tears, sunshine, emotions that were too strong,some subtle..with so many things that we just cant describe but these pictures would be wtched in my heart forever,along with many memories....I dont know still what death is and I may not till I die...But all I know is, death is never really the end...In death, we all are born again..in someone's heart as a memory...like an old melody that still floats in the breeze, never to fade away completely....not truely there but always remembered...

Tamizh film-music tag

Being dead bored and a person with enough tamil film-music knowledge..here goes this post

Number of albums I own
Never bothered to count...Must be well beyond the 500 mark

First Album that I bought
Since my mom and uncle used to collect alot of cassettes(my uncle still does),there has always been a steady inflow..but my very own first album was "P.Susheela's hits"(I generally buy collections)

Last Album I bought(not including downloaded stuff)
”Kalakkal” by Smitha
Ofcourse my sis bought all the latest film songs like Anniyan,CM etc.

Currently listening to
“Snehidhane” from Alaipayuthey



Albums that I'd want to take with me if marooned on a deserted island(20 albums):
Gimme a computer with broadband….I’d run out of the 20 albums very fast..Atleast that’ll help me download songs …I love many a single song amidst the rest in the movie..One day I plan to take a list and compile them into volumes of my favorite songs….As for the 20(I have to answer this question) here is the quickie list..

P.Susheela’s greatest hits
SPB golden hits
Yesudas’s Classical Live Vol-7
Sudha Ragunathan’s “Tamil Golden Hits”
TMS-a tribute
Nayagan
Alaipayuthey
Kandukonden Kandukonden
Iruvar
Sirai Chaalai
Rythem
Mudhalvan
Kadhalan
Padayappa
Thenali
Bombay
Hey nee romba azhaga irukka
Kannathil Muthamitaal
Nerukku Ner
Vetri Vizhaa…





Favourite singers
Male:SPB, TMS ,PB Srinivas
Female:P.Susheela, Chitra

Duets: SPB-Chitra, TMS-P Susheela, UnniKrishnan-Harini


Songs that you are most likely to hear me sing or hum:
I am always known to burst into songs...From new hits to old tunes..herez a list of my favorites...I think I've left out many coz the songs change with moods...
"Nila kaakirathu"-Indra
"Kannalane"-Bombay
"Ennai pandhada pirandhavale"-Ullam Ketkume
"Yenge enathu kavithai" and "Kannamoochi yenada” -from Kandukondain Kandukondain
“Ennai koncham maatri” and “Ondra renda” from Kaaka Kaaka
"Senthoora poove"-16 vayathinile
"Naan sirithaal deepavali" and "Nee oru kaadal sangeetham"-Nayagan
"Andha sivagaami maganidam"-Patanathil bootham
“Raagangal 16” -Thillu Mullu
“Kuzhal oodum kannan” -Mella Thirandhathu Kathavu
“Maalai pozhuthin mayakathile” -P.Susheela’s hits(forgot the movie’s name though)
“Thedinen vanthathu” -Ooty Varai Uravu
“Inji idupazhaka” -Devar magan


These strike me now…I still have plenty to write but then again it would get really boring

Favorite Lyrics:

I love good lyrics and sadly these days the film songs have pathetic lyrics…Here are some of my all time favorites

Kaalangalil aval vasantham…by PB Srinivas..It is a great song…One of Kannadhasan’s best works
“Paal pol siripathil pillai
Pani pol anaipathil kanni
Kan pol valarpathil annai
Aval kavingyan aakinaal ennai”

Minnale nee vandhu ponadhen…May maadham
“Kanneeril thee valarthu naan kaathirukiren
Un kaal adi thadathil thaan poothirukkiren”


Maalai pozhuthin mayakathile…
“Avar maraven maraven endrar udane
marandhu vittaar thozhi”

Vellai pookal..Kannathil Muthamitaal
“Kodi keerthanamum kavi paadum paadalkalum
Oru mounam pol inbam tharumaa?”

Unnakenna melae nindrai…Simla Special
“Paal undu vaazhum pillai
Nool kondu aadum bommai
Nool enna undhan kayilla
Nee sollu nandhalaala”

Pani kaatre- Run
“Iruvarume thoongi vidalaam..silla jenmam thaandi ezhalaam
Kanavil naam thinamum sandhipom”

Idhu oru pon maalai pozhuthu…….
“Vaanam ennakoru bodhi maram
Naalum adhu oru seithi tharum
Oru naal ulagu neethi perum
Thiru naal viraivil thedivarum”

Kannukku mai azhagu…Pudhiya mugam
“Kannukku mai azhagu kavithaikku poi azhagu
Avaraikku poo azhagu avarukku naan azhagu”

Mazhai thuli…Sangamam
“Thanni ila meen azhutha karaikku oru kavalaiyum varuvathillai
ennakullae naan azhudha en kaneer thodaikavum yaaumillai”

Kadavul paathi mirugam paathi…Aalavanthaan
“Nadhakumaara Nandhakumaara
Mazhai neer sudaathu theriyaatha
Kannil vadikira kaneer thuli thaan
Ven neer thuli yenna arivaaya
Sutta mazhayum sudatha mazhaiyum ondraai kandavan nee thane
Kaneer mazhail thaneer mazhayai kulikka vaithavan nee thane”

I think ten should make a decent list…

So I should thank k7 for tagging me and I proceed to tag Sindhu and VJ

The "Know me" tag

I thought I had successfully evaded this topic..but then Sindhu has tagged me…
One particular acquaintance of mine called tagging “some jobless moron’s idea” but then, hey ain’t we all jobless as of now(I disagree with the ‘moron’ part though)..So here I go…

Three Names I go by:
Asha
Ash
CC...(never ask me the expansion!!!)
Three names I was give other than Asha:
Ranganayaki
Mrinalini
Charanya
Three screen names:
asha_sunil14
charanya_87
Mystic
Three physical things I like about myself:
Hmm…
My eyes(it is my best feature)
My nose(not too pointed not too stubby..just the right size)
My lips…(a bit small but I like it)
Three physical things I dont like about myself:
Goddamn this question….
My figure..(holidays have generously added some pounds)
My hair..(used to be long and thick but right now it is dry and dull)
My feet..(huh….this is a long story…)
Three parts of my heritage:
Trichy..(the place where I was born and have spent most of my life)
Chennai..(my frequent haunt…used to be my fantasy to stay there..but no longer)
Kumbakonam..(3/4ths of my ancestry traces back to Kumbakonam)
Three things that scare me:
Failure…(I’ve always been scared failure even as a kid…still am but not to that extent…I’ve never understood why I have this fear but this is something that has been my asset and liability)
Most exhibition rides..(like the giant wheel, disco chairs etc...I get very sick after the rides)
Toads and other slimy creatures…(eeks and yuck!!!!)
Three things I want in a relationship:
Love….( lots of it from both sides is more than enough but I have to give two more points)
An easy sharing of thoughts..(something I cannot do without)
Mutual respect…(this is very very essential)
Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to me:
Now don’t say I’m too ambitious coz I don’t really expect much..
Bold and well defined features…(includes charismatic eyes and….hey I better stop before I embarrass myself)
Smile…(with a good sense of humor too…my dream guy should be able to knock me off with his smile)
Hair-style..(note this down coz I feel that the right kinda hairstyle that suits the guy is very much a turn-on)
Three things I want to do badly right now:
Go for a long swim in the river(but sadly no water in Cauvery)
Finish cleaning my room(next to impossible)
Freak out in a party
Three places I want to go on a vacation:
All over Europe…
Hawaii
Australia
Three things to do before I die:
If only wishes came true
Write a best-seller
Go on a world tour
Buy and live in a villa in say France or Italy…..hmm…
Three of my everyday essentials:
My scribble pad
My computer
My bedside novel
Three things I am wearing right now:
A gold chain..(gifted by my great gran)
My T-shirt and baggy..(the T-shirt reads..”If you know what is in my mind..U wudnt be smiling” my cousin’s fav caption)
A large hairclip..(to hold back my hair in a bun)
Three reasons why I'm posting this:
Because Sindhu tagged me
Because my blog lacked my intro
Mainly because I’m jobless for the next 15 days….

Since I have no-one to tag now, I guess I must be the last one to write this embarrassing topic..And if you have read this..I congratulate you for being the most patient person on earth..Thank u..

Peaceful-the effect

If you were wondering right now whether I am alluding to guitarist Prassana's album, I would answer a yes and a no to your unvoiced question..The album was definitely enchanting especially Culture of Silence and Peaceful-the effect. But then, if you are thinking that I'm going to go any deeper, think again..
Its been pretty long since I woke up in the morning so refreshed, with the wind whistling and painting numerous ripples in the nearby pool of water and the sun hidden behind the clouds with a coy smile.... wait! this is getting a bit too poetic...Not that today dawned literally more beautiful than the rest, but it is just that I woke up in a fantastic mood...I can owe it to the well-rested night after yesterday's endless activities or the successful completion of the painting I began two years ago or even to my sister's thoughtful gesture of massaging my broken leg last night (though it was very painful!).. I guess I'll just lie back typing this and not search for answers...
I’ve found myself humming the lyrics of the famous song “enge nimathi..?” (Where can I find peace…Give me a place to live there?) half-jokingly many a time when I am kinda stressed out…But this is one topic I had enough time to ponder on the past few days…I have always associated rest with peace-which has proved to be totally wrong…So hoping to set myself right, I embarked on the journey for the quest of the ultimate sources of peace…and here I am sharing my ideas and my findings..
I started to first de-stress myself…This was pretty tough for I had to do two really hard things…discover my inner-most feelings that trouble me and get over them…worse still..learn to accept most things that I found unpalatable…I got into a great deal of trouble because of this(not worth mentioning..nah!)..Not that I have accomplished these two tasks to the fullest, but I still gave a solid try…Life, instead of clearing, became more and more muddled…but then again, if life was to be functioning logically how dull it would be..Deciding that I was barking the wrong tree and being typically me..I quit thinking about this and it slowly slipped out of my mind…
It was quite some days later…one night rather…while returning from somewhere(I don’t remember where really)..traveling along the highway, with the wind in my hair, the melodious strains of “Kakka Kakka” songs in the background and my sis cuddled against me in the car that I did start thinking about it again…for at that moment I felt very content(sleepy too) and peaceful…
Peace, as most of us think, is not a commodity…It cannot be bought or brought upon no matter how much we attempt to…It is something that is found in abundance, even in these days, and all we have to do is just to look around just to find that it has already found us…Where we find peace varies from person to person, time to time……
Then I did start listing out the times when I really felt peaceful…..the list was surprising very very long(and to imagine that I hadn’t known that before)..It oscillated between low-key stuff like family dinners, playing with my sister, reading a nice book, hanging out in the veranda after lunch break gossiping, sipping a glass of cold juice after a sports day practice session, writing a poem, laying in a hot afternoon or just gazing outside the window to really conspicuous activities like my class seminars, cultural meets, expensive vacations(ref to Sigiriya in my SL trip)…That was truly surprising coz I never knew that I had thoroughly enjoyed and relished so many moments in the past 18 years…
So..for all those people there, who are really stressed out, in tears, seeking release and relief , I say, don’t wait to remove your stress as it had to be done whenever you feel stressed…. Just drop all what you are doing for a couple of seconds…close your eyes…think of a loved one’s smile and bring one on your lips…hum your favorite tune and feel good….May peace descend in all our lives as subtle and as beautiful as the spring-time breeze or the gentle swish of the dove’s wings…

A tale of tales...

A tale of tales…This is something I’ve always been wanting to write on but never had the push till I was tagged…When I kinda wonder where to start, this little mental image pops up...Comfortable and cozy in my great grandma’s lap, listening with rapt attention to her wonderful narration of mythology, her expressive voice drawing me into the realms of strange kingdoms, wars,princes and princesses…She was my “mobile de bibliotheque”(pardon my French!) a person who inspired me to read, sing and basically live life to the fullest. Born with a passion for reading (not self-praise really!),it became an obsession because of my dad. He was an avid reader who was rarely seen without a book by his bed-side. He was a great story-teller and used to tuck me in to sleep with his ever fascinating stories. I used to wonder as a kid if he’d ever run out of stories..Much to my glee,he never did, still never does but right now he has turned to non-fiction and philosophy.
So I did grow up amidst books. I was often found, as a kid, lost in some fairy tale probably trying to ward off the villains or dance at the wedding of the princesses. Being an obsessive reader, I finished the entire Enid Blyton collection before my fifth standard. I had inherited (?!!) so many books from my mom and dad..Among them, my favorites were a collection of Ukrainian folk tales, some classics like Alice in wonderland, Treasure Island, a set of Tinkle’s mythology series and a sci-fi book called “2000 miles under”. It was some where at that point when I wrote my first story “Ivan and his horse”…I was inspired by this Ukrainian folk character Ivan who of course starred in my first story…
Then there was this period in which I read classics non-stop. That was because of my teacher Mrs.Stephan who introduced the concept of writing reviews of the books we read. Classics certainly gave me more to comment on. First the abridged versions and much later the unabridged versions occupied my cluttered book shelves. I’ve still not got over my liking for classics but hey isn’t that what classics are meant for?
Stepping into adolescence, I started with thrillers, romances and whodunits like Agatha Criste, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys and yeah, Mills and Boons did enter my life…Pretty much the same fairy tale structure, same story line but different characters was what I found in most of my M&Bs…I’ve gotta couple of them with me still but the books really worth mentioning are “To marry a stranger” and “Rings of fire”..These stood apart from the proto-type M&Bs with an excellent and sensible story line and fantastic language. It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t pay homage to the “queen of whodunits” Agatha Criste…I’ve never put down any of her books before I finished her last page even if it meant a great dose of scolding from my mom…
I often tried to imitate the most famous detective Sherlock Holmes and despite of succeeding very rarely, I still never gave up the idea of becoming his successor..Laugh if you want to but hey, he was one guy whom I never could accept as a fictional character..I guess Arthur Conan Doyle must have been really upset having Holmes cloud his extensive historical works(I’ve tried two books) but Holmes-Watson team surely rules!!!!…I relish narrating these to my sister as her bed-time story..
I’ve surfed through virtually most of the famous works of Jeffrey Archer, Danielle Steel, Wilbur Smith, Sidney Sheldon, Michael Crichton, John Denver, Mary Higgins Clarke, Edgar Allan Poe and the rest…Sidney Sheldon dominated my reading time for a year till I got absolutely frustrated with his style of writing that I switched on to Jayne Ann Krentz…Now she is not so popular but her books are basically on corporate romances mainly and I loved them…
J.K Rowling brought in her magical Harry Potter Series to which I was introduced(rather forced to read) by my cousin…I did enjoy her first three books immensely but then the charm faded..I’ve got a few friends who do go bananas over HP(Daniel Radcliff does play a role in their craze) who’ve booked for their copies of the sixth book about 2 months ago…I say the magic was long lost…
My current pick is P.G.Wodehouse, his not-too-subtle English humor and his comical virtual world..It often made me yearn to be one of his characters whose principal worry was to choose dresses, think about the “annual fat pig contest”, make and break up engagements, have dinner parties and yeah, such trivial but still entertaining prospects…
H.H Munro also has this great sense of English humor though his inclines to a more satirical and subtle humour..I strongly recommend these two writers for a perfect holiday light-reading…
I’ve also had this fascination for serial murder stories(still do) and I’ve read so many of them(most of them really stupid) of which my favs are “Eyes” ,”Preying Mantis”,” The Vanishing Act” and “Somewhere Someplace”…

I did try my hand (or eyes rather) on non-fiction too…This includes a great deal of biographies, auto-biographies and a few books on philosophy…

Well now I think it’s time for me to sum up
1. Books I own…..I really don’t know as I’ve just got too many
2. Books I like……Same here..Too many to name a few
3.Books I recently bought…..Wilbur Smith’s “River God”, Crichton’s “Congo”, James Hadly Chase’s “You find him, I’ll fix him”,Saki’s collection of short stories, “Anthology of Crime and Murders”, “World’s best 500 short stories” to name a few
4. Books I read recently…..Now that I am sitting vetti, I’ve been reading too many books to remember

I really couldn’t give an indepth write-up because I’d never be able to finish it…

Now and then, you’d still find me engrossed in an Enid Blyton, some fairy tale or an Wodehouse ..Well that’s my idea of a perfect escape from reality…

Summer in Srilanka

So it feels great to be back blogging again...esp after a long vacation...And to blog about the vacation feels really nice....Its like gettin to feel the hot sun turning u really brown in Kaluthara or getting lost in the crowds of Kandy on Vesak or just trying to eat hoppers for breakfast all over again......and hey if you still havent gotta clue, I'd been to Srilanka...
Despite many warnings and good natured leg-pulling from most of my friends about LTTE and Tsunami, I did spend a great holiday in Ceylon...Here is a really interesting anecdote to get started with...Did any of you know that the word "Serendipity"(the discovery of beauty by accident or coincidence) is coined from the word "Seredip" which was another name for Srilanka by the ancient seafaring Greeks?I certainly didnt(my ignorance in etimology) and this piece of info that I came across in a magazine and the lovely landscapes in Kanathil Muthamitaal raised my expections about Srilanka...
It was 7:30AM, 22nd May and I was in the Trichy airport to board the flight in about an hour and it just struck me that I'm actually going to an international destination...And when such a thought did dawn in my mind, I got into the "feel-good" factor and when I stretched out my limbs as a sign of total relaxation , I stubbed my toe....The bleeding toe was just the beginning of the very long day that lay ahead....But then I think I can skip the part of me getting extremely sick in the flight, the bumpy plane ride due to the rain clouds and me falling into an uneasy sleep as soon as getting into the vehicle outside the airport....When I did wake up I felt like asking the question "where am I?" but then half scared that my parents would accuse me of watching too many dumb films in the hols, I forced my tired eyes to scan the place....It was the elephant orphange at Pinnawala...Quickly recovering and regaining my spirits, I joined my family to take a look of the baby elephants being fed.....There was nothing unusual but for the large feeding bottles, several litres of milk , tonnes of sugarcane and a multitude of elephants....This was followed by their bathing time(eat and then bathe....how I'd love to do that....).It was really sweet to watch the elephants frolic in the water..For people who plan to spend some more time in Pinnawala consider the option of staying in "Elephant Park Hotel" which faces the river...It was a great place filled with tourists....I resumed sleeping in the van till we reached Kandy...It was nearly 4pm when we reached Hotel Topaz.....Hotel Topaz , I must say, is probably one of the best places to stay in Kandy.....Nearer to the town, with a really cool view and great facilities, it is undoubtly a very comfy place to be in..After struggling with a really weird lunch(?!), we went to the "tooth relic temple”…The temple, in all aspects(expect ofcourse cleanliness) reminded me of Kerala….It was the day before Vesak(Buddha’s bday) and the temple was being decorated for the same…The tooth relic was by itself very unique and beautiful. It was being adorned with 7million dollors worth jewels(as grand as any of our temples)..Then after a walk downtown (it was deserted at 8pm owing to the festival the next day) and dinner, we hit the bed….
The next day I was feeling much better….I started the day with a leisurely swim in the hotel’s pool followed by a hearty breakfast…We visited the botanical gardens in Kandy..It was more or less like Ooty expect it being definitely more cleaner (trust me, I’d keep repeating this)..We were supposed to attend the Vesak procession the evening…So after some shopping for “bhakets”(lanterns) and having a short nap, we just managed to catch a glimpse of the procession…The bhakets were coloured paper lanterns of various shapes and sizes and were throughout the town along with the multicoloured Buddhist banners(I incidentally wore a top with the same colours)..After a visit to a Buddhist temple on a mountain top which had a very large Buddha statue, we enjoyed 2 hours of the cultural show organized in honour of Vesak…Then we decided to take a walk around the town(it being very small)..So we started from the hill top Kandy and then walked around the lake and the temple…This task took nearly 4 hours as the entire Srilankan population seemed to have landed in Kandy that day..The temple esp was so crowded..There was festival stalls and bhaket competition everywhere..This bhaket competition impressed me becoz it involved only youngsters…Their creativity, originality and the multitude of stalls really livened the occasion..My trip was just getting more interesting..
Dambulla caves were at the top of our agenda on the third day….Dambulla was a fortress cum temple cum gallery…It had a collection of really exquisite roof paintings and Buddha statues that really compensated for the long trek and the noisy crowd…It was certainly less cleaner than most other places we saw(there I go again)...After a short stop in a spice garden, we made it to Sigiriya…the place where nature,art and culture meets(so proclaim the SL tourism boards).
In Sigiriya, we stayed at Sigiriya village..This was by no means any comparison to an Asian village(no sir!)….It was set up on the lines of a posh American country resort with artificial ponds and cottages...The cottages though very simple,were definitely elegant and really comfortable...The place Sigiriya was very picturesque with a lot of greenery……The ancient fort and the excavation sites were indeed breathtaking and I guess I enjoyed Sigiriya the most,not only for its scenic value but also for the hotel’s emerald pool and the climate…I could go on about Sigiriya but then I have to move on..
The 7 hour journey from Sigiriya to Kaluthara was probably the most tiresome thing but then the short breaks inbetween at the Sigiriya crafts village and a small wayside inn made it a bit lighter. Reaching Hotel Villa Ocean View at 4pm on the fourth day, we had a light tea and then decided to check out its famous seaside pool….This large pool lay very near the sea and we had a great swim in the sunset..That would probably stand out really long in my memory…The next morn we had a small tour of the town which was pretty small again and left for Colombo…
Colombo was a mixture of the old and the new…Its colonial buildings, magnificent hotels,malls and the beach were really delightful..The Colombo city tour which included a visit to the museum,the old and new parliament houses, embassy areas, beach and the Buddha temple was short but very interesting..The zoological garden in Colombo was a pale shadow of Vandaloor(pathetic is the rite word)..The remaining days in Colombo were spent in the house of our friend(Mr.Gemunu and his family), shopping and visiting other friends..The last day is worth mentioning becoz we kids(me too) got to watch the movie “Lion King 1 and a half” which was downright hilarious with a huge carton of pizza and coke…..Well it did feel a bit sad leaving Srilanka despite the lousy food in all places but Colombo, the unpredictable weather and most of all the enormous differences of entry fee to any place between Srilankans and non-Srilankans(no kidding..in Sigiriya it was Rs.50 for SL and Rs.2000 for non SL…get what I mean)….Though we may encounter many a similarity between SL and India…there are always enough differences to make up for it….
The architecture, the fresco paintings, the cuisine, the people, the crafts and the ethnic aura make Srilanka , “the teardrop of the Indian ocean” stand apart from the rest of the world….Ayubowan….